AFL-CIO Blog

Extending a Helping Hand: The Working People Weekly List
AFL-CIO
Every week, we bring you a roundup of the top news and commentary about issues and events important to working families. Here’s this week’s Working People Weekly List.
Extending a Helping Hand to Those Affected by the Shutdown: "Across the country, working people are marching and rallying for an immediate end to the government shutdown. Already the longest funding lapse in American history, this manufactured crisis has put the weight of ideological extremism on federal workers and their families. As we continue fighting to reopen the government, the labor movement also is joining together to support our brothers and sisters as they go without a paycheck."
Stop Punishing Public Employees for Washington’s Failure to Lead: "How many of us could afford to work without being paid? How many of us would be 'fine' if we were suddenly laid off days before Christmas? For 800,000 Americans, including more than 12,000 Pennsylvania families directly affected by the government shutdown, the possibility of losing their homes, being late on their bills and facing unforgiving debt is all too real."
Federal Workers Seeking Unemployment Aid Doubles in Number: "The number of furloughed federal employees seeking unemployment benefits jumped in the first two weeks of the shutdown, topping 10,000 during the week of Jan. 5. The Labor Department said Thursday that is double the number of federal workers who sought aid in the previous week. Typically fewer than 1,000 former federal employees apply for jobless benefits each week."
As Shutdown Drags On, Some Step Up to Help Unpaid Federal Workers: "When the government shut down in late December, Morgan McKay offered free pizza and wine to furloughed and otherwise unpaid federal workers at her popular Denver restaurant, Oblio’s. Ms. McKay expected to host no more than three or four unpaid workers a night. Instead, a dozen or more have appeared nightly, joined by a new crop of paying customers who come to support her efforts."
Talks Resume as Los Angeles Teachers' Strike Runs for Fourth Day: "Negotiators for striking Los Angeles teachers and America’s second-largest school district returned to the bargaining table on Thursday for the first time since talks collapsed last week, as a walkout by some 30,000 educators ran for a fourth day. The strike has disrupted classes for nearly 500,000 students, though parents have turned out in large numbers to join teachers on picket lines and at their rallies. A recent Loyola Marymount University survey showed broad public support for the union’s cause across all demographics, especially among parents with school age children."
LMU: Majority of Los Angeles County Residents Supports Teachers’ Strike: "Nearly 80 percent of Los Angeles County residents said they support striking Los Angeles Unified School District teachers, according to survey results released Tuesday by Loyola Marymount University. Among respondents, 53% said they 'strongly support' and 24% 'somewhat support' teachers going on strike to achieve their demands in the labor dispute. Backing for the strike was at 60% or higher across all demographic categories, including age, ethnicity, income and political affiliation. Among parents with children at home, just 18% opposed the walkout, according to the survey conducted by the Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Center for the Study of Los Angeles at LMU."
Unions Raise Food and Money for Unpaid Federal Workers: "The Utah AFL-CIO has had a food pantry for years because there are often union members laid off of seasonal work, or whose industries are in a downturn, but this is the first time members of federal employee unions have been in need. 'There’s a lot of unfairness in it,' said Utah AFL-CIO President Jeff Worthington."
TSA Says Financial Stress of Shutdown is Forcing Growing Number of Officers to Stay Home: "Faced with growing numbers of call outs by its workers—and images of some of them lining up for food donations—leaders of the Transportation Security Administration acknowledged Wednesday that 'many employees are reporting that they are not able to report to work due to financial limitations.' Significant numbers of TSA agents have not been coming to work, either because of financial hardship or to underscore their opposition to being forced to work without pay."
Stop Starving Our Schools: "The streets of Los Angeles are packed with the sights and sounds of collective action this week. Braving the cold rain, some 30,000 United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) members turned out for picket lines across the city yesterday, joined by more than 10,000 parents, students and community members. Every L.A. school site—more than 900—participated in the strike, culminating in a 50,000-person march to the Los Angeles Unified School District’s (LAUSD’s) headquarters."
Thousands Rally in D.C. to #StopTheShutdown: "As the government shutdown became the longest in U.S. history, thousands of working people took to the streets of Washington, D.C., to send a clear message to the president and Congress to stop the shutdown and let federal government employees get to work. Thousands more rallied at other locations around the country."
No Joke: Worker Wins: "Our latest roundup of worker wins begins with several newsrooms using collective action and includes numerous examples of working people organizing, bargaining and mobilizing for a better life."
Kenneth Quinnell
Fri, 01/18/2019 - 10:31— Jan 18

Extending a Helping Hand to Those Affected by the Shutdown
AFL-CIO
Across the country, working people are marching and rallying for an immediate end to the government shutdown. Already the longest funding lapse in American history, this manufactured crisis has put the weight of ideological extremism on federal workers and their families. As we continue fighting to reopen the government, the labor movement also is joining together to support our brothers and sisters as they go without a paycheck.
If you have been impacted by the shutdown, there are a number of resources available to you. We are engaging a network of United Way/AFL-CIO labor liaisons and labor-associated community service organizations across the country to organize support; furloughed workers can call 2-1-1 to talk to a live, trained professional to find support and identify critical services.
Additionally, as a union member, you may be able to access a range of Union Plus benefits, including a $300 furlough grant, mortgage assistance, credit counseling, personal loans, auto insurance, and life and accident insurance.
Other resources available to those affected by the shutdown include:

Stop Starving Our Schools
UTLA
The streets of Los Angeles are packed with the sights and sounds of collective action this week. Braving the cold rain, some 30,000 United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) members turned out for picket lines across the city yesterday, joined by more than 10,000 parents, students and community members. Every L.A. school site—more than 900—participated in the strike, culminating in a 50,000-person march to the Los Angeles Unified School District’s (LAUSD’s) headquarters.
Teachers and their allies aren’t letting up. From the leaders of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor and California Labor Federation to working people across the country, the entire labor movement is showing solidarity with UTLA’s fight for better lives, schools and communities. Here are just a few of the realities they’re working to change:

The cost of living has increased 27% since 2008.

California’s student-to-teacher ratio ranks 48 out of 50 states.

Students in transitional kindergarten to sixth grade take more than 100 standardized LAUSD tests.

California is the richest state in the nation, yet ranks 43 out of 50 in per-pupil spending.

California’s student-to-counselor ratio is 945:1.

L.A.’s charter school industry has grown by 287% since 2008, draining nearly $600 million from public schools each year.

Thousands Rally in D.C. to #StopTheShutdown
AFL-CIO
As the government shutdown became the longest in U.S. history, thousands of working people took to the streets of Washington, D.C., to send a clear message to the president and Congress to stop the shutdown and let federal government employees get to work. Thousands more rallied at other locations around the country.
Facing a politically motivated crisis, federal workers desperately need the solidarity and backing of our brothers and sisters. Leaping into action over recent days and weeks, the AFL-CIO has mobilized the full resources of the labor movement behind them.
With the support of affiliates, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka (UMWA) successfully lobbied senators in halting consideration of any legislation until the government is reopened. Using our toll-free hotline, thousands of union members have contacted their senators to strengthen that effort.
In addition to the rally in D.C., we mobilized our state federations and central labor councils to turn out members for satellite rallies in dozens of communities across the country—from Colorado and Pennsylvania to Utah and Texas—demanding an immediate end to the shutdown and highlighting the fact that many of the workers locked out during the shutdown live outside of the nation's capital.
With each day that the shutdown drags on, the federation will expand and escalate our efforts. Working people won’t allow our brothers and sisters to be left out in the cold. We’re angry, we’re loud and we will be heard.
Here are what attendees said about the rallies in D.C. and around the country, using the hashtag #StopTheShutdown:

“If this shutdown continues to Saturday it will be our largest shutdown in history and this isn’t a record that anyone should be proud of, let’s call this shutdown what it is: It’s a Lockout. And this has to end NOW!” - @RichardTrumka at #StopTheShutdown Rally #1u
— AFL-CIO (@AFLCIO) January 10, 2019

No Joke: Worker Wins
The Onion
Our latest roundup of worker wins begins with several newsrooms using collective action and includes numerous examples of working people organizing, bargaining and mobilizing for a better life.
Onion Creative Staff Approve New Contract: The creative staff at The Onion, which includes various other related publications, voted to approve a new contract. Nearly 70 employees are covered by the two-year contract. The Onion Inc. Union, affiliated with the Writers Guild of America, East, wrote: "We’re elated to have reached a first union contract for the members at Onion Inc. In addition to the gains made in our contract, we experienced immediate workplace improvements while organizing, including increased interdepartmental communication and a gender pay parity analysis. As part of the WGAE, we have access to resources and the solidarity of thousands of union members across media and entertainment. We’re proud to be part of a wave that’s raising standards across the industry and we encourage everyone to organize their workplaces."
Law360 Editorial Staffers Unanimously Approve First Contract: After a two-year battle, members of The NewsGuild-CWA who work as editorial staff at LexisNexis-owned Law360, a legal news site, unanimously approved their first contract. The four-year agreement includes a 22% raise and a minimum annual salary of $50,000. In a statement, the unit said: "Last night, we unanimously (168-0!) ratified a remarkable first contract that fiercely protects and improves the working conditions of everyone in the newsroom at Law360. For years, we have been adamant about protecting the editorial integrity of the newsroom and of our bargaining unit. We successfully negotiated language that prevents the company from reinstating non-compete agreements and onerous daily story quotas. We also achieved a provision that preserves the contract in the event of a sale or acquisition of the company."
New York Media Editorial Employees Join NewsGuild: After nearly 80% of eligible staffers signed on, editorial employees of New York Media voted to be represented by The NewsGuild of New York-CWA. The new unit would cover 160 full- and part-time staffers and has asked the company for voluntary recognition of the union. A mission statement from the new unit said: "We believe that unionizing is the best way to address our grievances in the workplace and allow us to continue publishing stories as honest, gritty, and exceptional as this city. We hope that New York Media will recognize our union so that we can begin an amicable collective-bargaining process and build a stronger, more equitable company for another 50 years."
New York City Rideshare App Drivers Win Historic Pay Rules: After a campaign by the Independent Drivers Guild (an affiliate of the Machinists) that involved rallying 16,000 drivers to events, lobbying days and thousands of calls and letters, drivers for rideshare apps in New York have won a minimum pay rate that is equivalent to the city's $15 per hour minimum wage. "Today we brought desperately needed relief to 80,000 working families. All workers deserve the protection of a fair, livable wage and we are proud to be setting the new bar for contractor workers’ rights in America," said Jim Conigliaro Jr., founder of the Independent Drivers Guild. "We are thankful to the Mayor, Commissioner Joshi and the Taxi and Limousine Commission, City Council Member Brad Lander and all of the city officials who listened to and stood up for drivers."
Nurses at NewYork-Presbyterian Hudson Valley Hospital Win Union Election: Nurses at the hospital in Cortlandt, New York, voted to join the New York State Nurses Association after an anti-union campaign that led to state officials vowing to investigate labor abuses alleged against the hospital. Nurse and organizer Susan Beck said: "We got an email from our president that said respect will be at the center of how we will continue to work together. That’s what nurses really wanted in the first place."
Educators at Acero Charter Schools Reach Agreement to End Strike: Educators at Acero charter schools in Chicago ended the first strike in charter school history by reaching a tentative agreement with the school network. The 500 educators won pay improvements, reductions in class sizes and language that makes the school a sanctuary for the schools' immigrant students, including protection against federal immigration enforcement on school grounds. Chicago Teachers Union President Jesse Sharkey said: "This was the culmination of our vision over more than a decade of organizing. Our vision is that educators at charter schools and at Chicago Public Schools have common interests. We live in the same neighborhoods, we teach the same kids, and we wage the same struggles over resources and underfunding. We are now a movement that commands national attention and can stop a city."
Environmental Charter School Educators Vote to Join AFT: Educators at Environmental Charter School in Pittsburgh voted to join the AFT. The new unit will represent teachers, nurses, counselors, social workers, academic coaches and educational assistants. They will now proceed with negotiations on their first union contract.
Steelworkers Ratify Contract with ArcelorMittal: Some 15,000 United Steelworkers members have a new four-year labor agreement with ArcelorMittal USA that increases wages and benefits. The workers in six states had voted to authorize a strike during the acrimonious negotiations. David McCall, lead negotiator for USW District 1, said: "We successfully defended all of the rights and protections that management sought to reduce, restrict and eliminate. On top of that, we were able to make improvements, fill gaps and fix the parts of our contracts that members identified as top priorities."
Oregon Mental Health and Addiction Recovery Workers Join AFSCME: Nearly 270 mental health and addiction recovery workers at Cascadia Behavioral Healthcare in Portland and Milwaukie, Oregon, voted to join AFSCME. The workers are pushing for better pay and lower case loads. The fight for unionization at the clinics was a unwelcome one from management, which held numerous anti-union meetings and AFSCME has filed charges against Cascadia for improperly firing a union supporter.
Laid Off Toys 'R' Us Workers Secure $20 Million in Severance Fight: In the process of Toys "R" Us filing for bankruptcy in 2018, 31,000 employees were laid off and did not get severance payments. Meanwhile, some top executives got bonuses. The laid-off workers fought back and have negotiated a settlement with Bain Capital and KKR, private equity firms that owned part of the toy retailer, to pay $20 million in severance payments.
Kenneth Quinnell
Tue, 01/15/2019 - 09:17
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Organizing— Jan 15